Mobile sunshade for casting shadows



2,693,230 MOBILE SUNSHADE FOR CASTING SHADOWS 3 Lowell Burks,Louisville, Ky. I

Application August 11, 1953, Serial No. 373,653

Claims. (Cl. 160-351) My invention relates to mobile sun shades forcasting a shadow on base ball diamonds, athletic fields, and the like toprotect players from the sun rays.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a shadow casting sunshade in the form of a large vane mounted for movement along a fieldandfor vertical adjustment, rotation and tilting so as to cast a largeshadow over selected areas of the field.

Another object is to provide a device of the character and for thepurpose above specified which is adapted for easy operation by one manand is of simple construction and inexpensive to manufacture and use.

Other and subordinate objects together with the precise nature of myimprovements will become readily apparent when the succeedingdescription and claims are read with reference to the drawingsaccompanying and forming part of this specification.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, partly broken away, of my improvedsun shade in the preferred embodiment thereof;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section partly inside elevation;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section taken on the line33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary enlarged view in vertical section taken on theline 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view in vertical section taken on theline 5-5 of Figure 1, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in end elevation and vertical sectionillustrating one use of the invention.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, my improved sun shade comprises arectangular carriage 1 including a platform, 3 pairs of flanged endwheels 5 running on tracks 7 and a pusher structure 9 on one end of thecarriage 1 for propelling the shade along the tracks 7 to selectedlocations.

A rectangular opaque vane 11 of suitable rigid, light strong materialsurmounts the carriage 1 and is mounted in an upright U-shaped T-ironyoke 13 for tilting about a horizontal axis by means of a pair ofaxially aligned, longitudinally slotted, horizontal shafts 15 straddlingthe vane 9 in its longitudinal center and bolted to said vane 11, as at17, with their outer ends journaled in upright side arms 19 of the yokeand their inner ends spaced apart upon opposite sides of the transversecenter of said vane 11.

Transverse channel, brace bars 21 on opposite sides of the vane 9 in itstransverse center are bolted thereto, as at 23.

As seen in Fig. 2, the yoke 13 is supported for vertical adjustment tocorrespondingly adjust the vane 11 by a hollow vertical screw shaft 25rising above the platform 3 in the center thereof and having a washer 27on its upper end seating a depending central shank 29 on the yoke 13.Gusset plates 28 brace the yoke 13 and shank 29.

The screw shaft 25 forms part of means for vertically adjusting the yoke13 to correspondingly adjust the vane 11, the remainder of which willnow be described. An internally threaded sleeve 31 surrounds andthreadedly engages the screw shaft 25 in a cylindrical upright casing 33rising from the platform 3 in the center thereof and suitably secured atits lower end thereto, said casing 33 having its upper end extendinginto the bottom of an enlarged circular gear housing 35 closed by anannular cover plate 37 bolted thereto, as at 39,

2,693,230 Patented Nov. 2, 1954 The sleeve 31 is rotatably suspended atits upper end by a bevel gear 41 formed concentrically on said end andwhich meshes with and is supported by bevel gear pinions 43 fast onhorizontal, radial stub shafts 45 journaled in the side of the housing35 and in the upper end of the casing 33.

A hand wheel 47 on one shaft 45, outside the housing 35, is provided forrotating one of the gear pinions 43. A ball bearing unit 49 bolted, asat 51, in the casing 33 around the lower end of the sleeve 31 coactswith the gear 41 and gear pinions 43 to suspend the sleeve 31 coaxiallyin the casing 33. A key lug 53 projects into a longitudinal key groove55 in the screw shaft 25 to prevent said shaft 25 from rotating, and ispreferably formed on the cover plate 37..

Means are provided for rotatably adjusting the yoke 13 and vane 11 aboutthe axis of the screw shaft 25 as follows. A hand wheel 57 at one sideof the casing 33 is fast on the upper end of a vertical drive shaft 59journaled in a shaft housing 61 rising from and suitably fixed on theplatform 3. The drive shaft depends through the platform 3.

A hollow driven shaft 63 rotatably fitted in the screw shaft 25 dependsout of the lower end of said shaft 25, and through a bearing 65 in theplatform 3. The drive shaft 59 is operatively connected to the drivenshaft below the platform 3 by a gear pinion 67 keyed, as at 69, on thelower end of said shaft 59 and meshing with a larger gear 71 pinned, asat 73, on the lower end of the driven shaft 63 below the bearing 65.

An antifriction step bearing 73 suitably mounted on the carriage 1supports the hub 75 of the gear 71 and the lower end of said shaft 63.

The driven shaft 63 is operatively connected to the shank 29 of the yoke13 to rotate said yoke and the vane 11 by means of a polygonal splineshaft 77 pinned, as at 79, in a socket 81 in said shank 29 and dependingcoaxially therefrom into a polygonal axial bore 83 in the driven shaft63.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 5 vane 11 is tiltable about the axis of thehorizontal shafts 15 by means including a hand wheel 85 on a shaft 87journaled in a bearing yoke 89 bolted, as at 91, on the bottom of theyoke 13 and depending therefrom with said shaft 87 transverse to theyoke. The shaft 87 is operatively connected by bevel gearing 93 to ahorizontal shaft 95 mounted beneath the yoke 13 in bearing brackets 9799on said yoke and shaft 95 is operatively connected by bevel gearing 101to a vertical shaft 103 mounted in bearing brackets 105, 107 on one ofthe arms 19 and also mounted in the bracket 99. Worm gearing 109, 111 onthe shaft 103 and one end of one of the shafts 15 operatively connectsthe shaft 103 to the ,vane 11.

Referring now to the use and operation of the invention, by operation ofthe hand wheel 47 the sleeve 31 may be rotated through the driven gearpinion 43 and bevel gear 41 to feed the screw shaft upwardly ordownwardly for vertically adjusting the yoke 13 and vane 11. Byoperation of the hand wheel 57 the driven shaft 63 may be rotatedthrough the gear pinion 67 and gear 71 to rotate the yoke 13 and vaneabout a vertical axis as will be clear. By operation of the hand wheel85 the shaft 95 may be rotated through the bevel gearing 93 to impartrotation to the shaft 103 through the bevel gearing 101 so that the wormgearing 109, 111 will rock the shaft 15 to which it is connected andthereby tilt the vane vertically as desired.

The sun shade is preferably mounted on a high elevation at the edge of afield 13, for instance on a grandstand 115 and propelled along thetracks 7 into a desired location by a conventional crank operated drive117 geared as at 119 to one of the wheels 5. When in location the vane11 may be vertically adjusted, rotatably adjusted or tilted in themanner described so as to cast a shadow as indicated in Figure 6 on thefield 113 to shade a selected area for the benefit of a player orplayers on the field or for other purposes.

The foregoing will it is believed suffice to impart a clearunderstanding of my invention without further explanation.

Manifestly the invention as described is susceptible of modificationwithout departing from the inventive concept and right is hereinreserved to such modifications as fall within the scope of the inventionas herein disclosed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A portable sun shade for casting a shadow comprising a mobilecarriage, a vertical yoke, a vane pivotally mounted in said yoke on ahorizontal axis for vertical tilting adjustment, a vertically actingscrew feed means on said carriage for adjusting said yoke vertically tocorrespondingly adjust said vane, and manually operative means on saidyoke operatively connected to said vane for tiltably adjusting the vane.

2. A portable sun shade according to claim 1, said screw feed meanscomprising a vertical screw shaft on which said yoke is seated, adriving sleeve for said shaft threadly connected thereto, a plurality ofgears rotatably suspending said sleeve, and manual means for driving oneof said gears to rotate said sleeve.

3. A portable sun shade according to claim 2, said yoke being rotatableon said screw shaft, a hand wheel on said carriage, and meansoperatively connecting said hand wheel to said yoke to rotate the yokein difierent vertically adjusted positions ofsaid vane.

4. A portable sun shade according to claim 1. said yoke being rotatablerelative to said screw feed means, a hand wheel on said carriage, andmeans operatively connecting said hand wheel to, said yoke to rotatesaid yoke in different vertically adjusted positions of said vane.

5. A portable sun shade according to claim 1, said screw feed meanscomprising a hollow vertical screw shaft, on which said yoke isrotatably seated, a hand wheel on said carriage, and means operativelyconnecting said wheel to said yoke for rotating the yoke comprising arotary hollow shaft in said screw shaft, and a shaft splined in saidlast named rotary shaft and vertically slidable thereon and rotatablethereby, and operatively connected to said yoke.

